When relocating to the UK, there is various sort of visas to select from and people are now using online photo tools to ensure the regulations for acquiring a UK residence card are met. Still, the EEA (European Economic Area) Family Permit/UK resident card is a lesser-known alternative.

The information below covers all you need to know about how to get a UK residence card before relocating to the United Kingdom. It's better than a work visa and is reliant on your family connection.

What is the European Economic Area (EEA) residency card?

This card, also known as the UK resident card, serves as a visa that allows you to live and work in the United Kingdom. After five years, the grantee can finally seek permanent residency.

An individual with permanent resident status can live and work in the UK indefinitely. You will no longer have any immigration restrictions on working or business in the UK and no time limits on your stay.

However, the right can lapse if an individual spends more than two years continuously outside the country.

Who is eligible for a residence card in the United Kingdom?

Suppose you are a family member or extended family member of an EEA citizen who is not an EEA person, such as a spouse of an EEA person. In the perspective of the UK government, your family member must be a "qualified person," which implies that he or she must be studying or working in some capacity.

Members of the immediate family

Only spouses, civil partners, children or grandchildren under the age of 21, and dependent parents or grandparents are considered direct family members of EEA nationals. For individuals applying as a relative of a student in the United Kingdom, the conditions are varied.

Members of the extended family

Extended family members of EEA nationals are treated as unmarried partners in a scenario akin to civil partnership or marriage or a relative not listed on the direct family member list. Siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews are all on the later list.

Application and fees for an EEA resident card

You will be needed to fill out an appropriate form depending on whether you are a family member or an extended family member of an EEA person.

• As a family member of an EEA or Swiss national, you can apply for a residence card using the form EEA (FM)
• Application for a residence card as an EEA or Swiss national's 'extended' family member: form EEA (EFM)

How to Apply for UK Residence Card?

Download one of the two application forms available at https://www.gov.uk/family-permit

; one is for immediate family members, and the other is for extended family members. So far, the costs and processing times are the same.

The application and accompanying documentation and the cost must be mailed to the Home Office. Due to the rising popularity of this form of UK visa, processing timeframes might range from two to six months.

You can ask for the supporting papers – such as your and your EEA family member's passports – to be returned to you before the decision is reached; this will not damage your application.

Necessary Documents

For a successful EEA resident card application, you must provide several papers and supporting proof. The following are some of the most important documents:

• Proof of identity and nationality (Your current passport, and passport or national identity card of your EEA family member sponsor)
• Photographs (Two passports sized photographs of Applicant, One passport-sized photograph of your sponsor)
• Proof of relationship (Evidence of your durable relationship evidence with the EEA national)
• Evidence of your EEA national sponsor exercising Treaty rights in the UK
• Other relevant evidence and documents

Things to remember before applying

• If you intend to travel within six months of the date you submit your application, please include that information.
• If any of your documents are not in English or Welsh, certified translations of each document must be submitted.
• You will also be required to supply biometric information, which can be obtained simply at any UK Post Office for a little under £20.
• When you receive a letter from the Home Office, you will know if your application was successful. Within two weeks, you should receive your supporting documents and residency card in the mail.
• You will have to reapply for a UK resident card if your passport expires before the end of the five years of your UK residence card. Even if you have years left on your UK resident card, it cannot be transferred to a new passport. The same goes for any UK resident cards damaged, lost, expired, or stolen.

Advice for Using UK Residence Card

While this card allows you to work and reside in the United Kingdom, it does not allow you to work or reside in any other EEA or EU nation. If you relocate from the United Kingdom to another European nation, you will need to get a new visa for that nation.

Furthermore, you are still considered a citizen of your native country and must provide your passport while traveling overseas. However, you get to go through the UK/EU passport line at UK Border Control – show your residence card and answer a few questions.